The historical space capsule that took the very first moonwalkers to space is gearing up for another trip -- a tour of the United States.

The tour, which is the capsule's first tour in more than 40 years, is taking the history of the spacecraft out of its home at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington and into four American cities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the achievement.

The Apollo 11 command module, called Columbia, is the spacecraft that took Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins to the moon and back in 1969.

It's the first time since 1976 that the capsule has left the museum.

The traveling exhibit will also include objects such as the helmet and gloves that Aldrin wore during his moonwalk, a "rock box" that astronauts used to take back some of the first ever samples from a "heavenly body" and the watch that Collins wore during his time orbiting the moon while Aldrin and Armstrong explored the lunar surface.

"This is the spacecraft that brought the three astronauts home from the first landing on the moon, so it's one of the Smithsonian's most important artifacts," Michael Neufeld, a senior curator at the museum told NPR.

The selected museums had to submit engineering documentation to make sure that the floor could not only support the heavy Columbia, but also the artifacts from the rest of the exhibit.

Columbia, on its traveling ring, weighs over 13,600 pounds.

Upon returning to the D.C. museum, Columbia will be the centerpiece of the brand new "Destination Moon" exhibit focusing on lunar exploration from ancient times to today. The exhibit will open in 2021.